F1
Oracle Red Bull Racing’s F1 world champion Max Verstappen led for 62 laps of the Austrian Grand Prix, but a clash with McLaren’s Lando Norris saw him fall back to fifth after a puncture and penalty.
01
Austria in exactly 75 words*
George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver picking up the pieces after a late-race dice between Max Verstappen of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Lando Norris (McLaren) for the lead ended up in contact with seven laps remaining, both cars limping back to the pits with punctured tyres. Verstappen was able to rejoin the race and finished fifth after leading for 62 of the 71 laps, while team-mate Sergio Pérez finished in seventh.
* 2024 is the 75th season of the F1 world championship
02
The Austrian GP in six pics
03
Puncture, penalty ends Verstappen’s victory march
For two days and 53 laps, the Austrian Grand Prix looked to be safely in Verstappen’s keeping. On the third sprint race weekend of the season, the Dutchman qualified on pole and won over 24 laps on Saturday, and then took pole and led for the first two stints of the Grand Prix before the script took an unexpected twist.
A slow pit stop for Verstappen to remove a stubborn left-rear tyre saw Norris, who had trailed the race leader by six seconds, emerge from his own stop right behind the reigning world champion. The pair fought ferociously for the next 11 laps, using every inch of the track, until they made contact at the uphill Turn 3 with seven laps remaining. Verstappen’s left rear tyre and Norris' right rear were punctured in the clash, and while both made it back to the pits, Norris retired from the race.
Verstappen rejoined in fifth place and was issued a 10-second time penalty for being deemed to have caused the collision, but he had enough of a margin over Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in sixth to retain his position and extend his world championship lead over Norris by 10 points.
Pérez, who finished eighth from seventh on the grid in Saturday’s sprint, scored seven points in Austria after managing just eight in the preceding four race weekends.
The Mexican driver had his progress in the race compromised by a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his first tyre stop, and the sanction proved doubly costly as he finished less than half a second behind Hulkenberg in sixth after 71 laps.
04
Ricciardo celebrates milestone with points
Visa Cash App RB came to the Red Bull Ring with plenty to ponder after a host of updates to the VCARB 01 chassis didn’t bear fruit in Barcelona a week earlier, with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda failing to trouble the top 10.
It was a different story in Austria, though, with Ricciardo – on his landmark 250th Grand Prix start – scoring points in a Sunday race for the second time this season with a flawless drive to ninth from 11th on the grid, keeping Alpine driver Pierre Gasly in his rear-view mirror for the final stint of the race and crossing the line six-tenths of a second ahead.
Tsunoda, who qualified 14th, finished in the same position after a frustrating race stuck in traffic in the midfield but retained his place inside the top 10 of the drivers’ championship at a Grand Prix where he’s yet to finish better than 12th in four F1 attempts.
05
The number you need to know
5: Verstappen’s pole position was his fifth in succession at the Red Bull Ring, his longest run of consecutive poles at a single circuit.
06
The word from the paddock
I need to look back at how or why we touched. Of course, we’ll talk about it… it was just unfortunate that it happened
07
The stats that matter
Drivers' Championship top 5
Constructors' Championship top 5
08
Away from the track
We know the Monaco Grand Prix as the race adjacent to the water, but what about the ‘real’ Monaco race – the one in the water? The Red Bull Energy Station (particularly its pool) has hosted many a team celebration in Monaco, but this year, it was used for something completely different…
Take four F1 drivers (Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez from Oracle Red Bull Racing, plus Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo from Visa Cash App RB), have them build miniature DIY rafts, insert dolls that look a bit (emphasis on ‘a bit’) like the drivers themselves and… you can probably guess the rest.
Who won the race? Who got the wettest? Who adhered to the rules, and who downright broke them? Watch the video below to find out.
09
Where to next, and what do I need to know?
Round 12 (Great Britain), July 5-7
Circuit name/location: Silverstone, Northamptonshire
Length/laps: 5.891km, 52 laps
Grands Prix held/debut: 57, 1950
Most successful driver: Lewis Hamilton (eight wins)
Most successful team: Ferrari (15 wins)
2023 race recap: 1st: Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing), 2nd: Lando Norris (McLaren), 3rd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
10
Inside the wide world of Red Bull Motorsports
Think you have what’s required to take on Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and the rest of the world in sim racing – and win some awesome prizes while you’re proving it? Well, now’s your chance to find out in the Oracle Racing League.
How does it work? You’ll find out more here, but the basics: sign in (or sign up) to The Paddock, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s fan loyalty programme, and follow the instructions to sync your EA SPORTS F1 24 telemetry settings to the account + Oracle leaderboard, and then head to ‘Time Trial’ for the ‘Red Bull Ring’ circuit.
The rest? Well, that’s up to you – oh, and your sim racing skills…
